Blubbers in the Dark
by mochamaker
Summary: Bad news hits Jane.  Will Maura give her the support she needs, or leave her to wallow in misery alone?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the characters and I'm not making a profit off this story.

Rated T to M

**Blubbers in the Dark**

Chapter One:

Jane sat at her desk when she got the call. Paperwork laid spread out, sheet upon sheet covered in her sloppy penmanship. With rushed impatience, she answered and listened to dead air for a few heartbeats. Then, a rushed voice on the other end told her that Ziggs was gone. Passed away in her sleep. She nodded, swallowed, then hung up without responding. Her eyes focused on the mess of papers and her hand rested on the phone receiver.

She blinked, feeling a sudden sting in her eyes.

"Hey Jane, you have the Samson report finished. Lt said he needed it ASAP," Barry Frost said, walking into the squad room with the speed of a rabbit and the force of a bulldozer. He had a job to do and intended on doing it to the best of his ability no matter what.

Jane didn't look up. She blinked rapidly and continued to keep her head down.

Frost stared at Jane for a minute, then came over to stand beside her desk. "What's going on?"

"She's gone," Jane muttered.

"Who's gone? Maura? Your Ma?" Frost placed his hand on her shoulder and took a seat beside her. "I didn't hear anything." He set his hand on hers, still gripping the receiver and squeezed.

"Ziggs. Her husband came home from work to find her gone. Dead in their bed."

"I'm very sorry. But, who is Ziggs?" He patted her hand. "I've never heard you talk of anybody named Ziggs before."

"Uhh. That's because we haven't spoken in almost ten years. She was my best friend in school. Practically sisters." Jane swallowed and wiped away the hot tears coating her cheeks. "We parted because I didn't fit her mold of a girl. She liked to ride bikes and I liked to take them apart. I played baseball. She cheered me on and checked out the hot boys on the other team." She used her sleeve to wipe her nose and looked at Frost with watery eyes. "We parted with hateful words and never apologized."

"I'm sorry partner. I'll cover your shift if you need to go see her family," Frost whispered, patting Jane one more time before taking his hand away and giving her space. He knew she wasn't fond of touching, even when in need of comfort, giving her space and just being beside her was the best way he could offer his condolences.

"Thank you, Frost. But, I'm not sure what'd I say." Jane turned away and sat up straighter in her chair. "She's gone and that's that." She grabbed her pen, glanced at Frost one more time, then said, "if you don't mind, the Lieutenant needs this report and I need to get back to work on it."

"Sure thing. Just let me know if I can do anything for you. Okay?" Frost stood up and backed away from his partner. "Even if it's only to grab you more coffee. Probably the only time I'm gonna offer to do that for you." He laughed, watched Jane ignore his comment then went back out the door as quickly as he had entered. He turned and watched her for a minute, sighed, then headed for the stairs. There was only one person to help Jane get through the shock she was obviously experiencing. And he only hoped she wasn't too busy to come to the rescue.

Frost pushed open the door to the morgue and marched inside. Maura Isles, sat at her desk, working on her computer. She looked up as she heard the doors open.

"Barry, what can I do for you on this fine Monday morning?"

"For me, nothing. But Doc, Jane needs you," Frost said, moving to stand right beside Maura's desk. "She just got bad news and she's gonna need you. An old friend of hers passed away yesterday and she just received the call."

"Who was it?" Maura slid back from her computer, locking it down, and her hands already grabbing for her purse. The concept of being too busy to help her best friend never being an option for her. She would drop everything to help Jane.

"Somebody named Ziggs. I'm not really sure, Jane never having spoken of her before, but she did say that they parted about ten years ago and haven't spoken since." Frost shrugged. "She seemed pretty devastated. At least for Jane. You know how she can be. The whole cold outside, boiling down inside persona that she wears so well."

"I know. I'll be there for her. Whatever she needs." Maura looked Frost in the eyes, then turned and left the morgue at a fast walk. She would run, but her heels wouldn't allow her to without stumbling and falling down.

"You go, girl," Frost muttered to the empty room. He stood watching her until he heard a clang from somewhere toward the back of the morgue lab, then he bolted. "Wait for me," he mumbled and left the morgue at a jog.

**AN: Writing is cathartic in many ways. I recently lost my best friend from childhood and this is my way of working through the grief. I have no idea how many updates I will do, but there will be a chapter two posted soon. **


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own the characters of RandI, and I'm not making a profit off this.

Rated T to M

**Blubbers in the Dark**

_Chapter Two_

Maura crept into the squad room with soft steps, her eyes already finding and locking on Jane. She walked up to her and stood behind her, just watching her. Jane was furiously writing on one of the many papers laid out on her desk, her eyes down and her mouth in a frown, the lower lip barely puckering out.

"Jane," Maura whispered.

Jane stopped writing, her pen paused over the paper. "What do ya want, Maura?" She kept her head down. "I'm very busy here."

"Yes…I can see that. But since you missed the morning meeting, I thought I'd stop by and give you the report one-on-one." Maura pulled over a chair, setting it right beside Jane, and sat down with huff.

"I don't have the time to listen to you prattle on in your gibberish language right now. I..am..busy. Now, please leave me alone," Jane said.

"Gibberish? I was under the assumption you enjoyed my unpronounceable descriptions. Hmm." Maura leaned on the corner of the desk. "Why, I remember you once saying, while intoxicated of course, that you found them sexy."

"If you think I said sexy, then you need to have your ears cleaned. If you don't mind…" Jane waved her hand over the mess of papers before her.

"I don't. Mind, that is, waiting for you to finish. Then I will be able to give you a more thorough report."

Jane tossed her pen down. "Fine. You stay. I'll go." She stood up, then stared down at Maura. "Why do you always have to have your way. Can't you use your excellent vision to see that I'm busy and not interested in whatever shit you have to say to me."

Maura grabbed Jane's wrist. "But I am using my eyes, Jane. And, I can see by the way your cheeks are flushed, your tear ducts are swollen and your mandibular muscles keep clenching then unclenching, that you have something on your mind. I'd like you to tell me what's wrong. If you don't tell me, then I'll never know the truth."

"OHH…but didn't Frost already tell you? I'm assuming he ran out of here to get you. I mean, that's why you're here, right? Because he sent you here to stand guard over me. That's what you both do. Every fucking time that I turn around," She slapped her thigh and jerked her wrist away from Maura's grasp. "There you are, Maura." She rubbed her forehead, taking a side step away. "Just let me get my work done in peace."

Maura stood up, her eyes drilling into Jane's. "Jane, I'm not leaving…" She moved her other hand from behind her back and quickly snagged Jane before she could run away. With a smile, she said, "and neither are you."

Jane looked down at her wrist. "You cuffed me with my own handcuffs? That's low, Maura."

"It's the only way," Maura whispered, clipping the other end to her own wrist, binding Jane to her. "I know you, regardless of how hard you've pushed me away, I pay attention to you more than you think." She jangled the cuffs to emphasize her point, then said, "you either run away or fight. This time, Jane, you're not running. So, have a seat and tell me what's going on. Spew it," Maura huffed, waving her hand in a mimicked motion of Jane's usual gesture and making Jane's hand move too. "Oops. Sorry." She sat down and grabbed Jane. "Talk to me. We're alone for the next little while. Barry is standing guard outside the door and preventing anyone from disturbing us."

Jane sighed in defeat. "I'm not sure what to say. Or where to start."

"How about at the beginning."

"Okay." Jane looked at Maura then down at their cuffed wrists. "I lost my best friend from school. But I'm sure that Frost squealed that fact, didn't he?"

"He did mention it, but he mentioned quite a lot. We had a quick but fulfilling conversation."

"MMhmm."

"Tell me about your friend. Everything. I want to know it all."

"Ziggs. At least that's what she liked to be called. It wasn't her given name, but I know..knew her as Ziggs. We grew up together. Bonded at Kindergarten and never separated until our early twenties."

"And why did you separate?"

"Difference of opinion. It tore our friendship apart."

"Jane," Maura whispered, looking at Jane with sympathy in her eyes. Jane turned and looked back, something akin to regret in her dark eyes. "Childhood friendships rarely last into and through adulthood. What you knew as a child, your hopes and ambitions, they all change and grow into a better picture of who you are meant to be. You change. Ziggs changed. There was nothing you could have done to make it turn out differently."

"Well…now we'll never know if we could have reconnected, will we?" Jane mumbled, ducking her head and avoiding Maura's gaze. "I should send flowers."

"Do you need to attend the service?" Maura said, mentally clearing her schedule so she could attend with Jane. "I've cleared my schedule."

"I probably should. And, I've gotta tell Frankie and Ma."

"I'll be with you all the way."

"I know," Jane husked, her eyes blinking rapidly.


End file.
